Hey!
Extremely long day once again. I taught at my old dance studio from 9am-6pm, and then I had to take my sister (and chaperon her) at one of her friends' parties. I barely got home, so I'm literally pooped.
But back to dance.
As I mentioned in my last post, commercial dancing is a lot about performing from deep within your soul so it really reads to the audience you are performing it for. Dynamics and quality of the movement being performed is so extremely important and good execution of this is how a commercial dancer can stand out and succeed.
Here is a hip hop routine from So You Think You Can Dance from a few years back. I've seen it so many times already, and when I just watched it a few minutes ago..it still gave me chills at some parts because of their exquisite dynamics. You will really be able to see the passion through every movement, and also get a feel of a story being told. It's an incredible piece, and I'm excited to share it with you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JwWtTbUOlE
Entertainment is something that goes hand in hand with dynamics and quality. And as you can see, some of the movement that the dancers executed were raved upon by the audience members, and you probably got a little bit of the chills too. ;] Well leave some questions if you have any, and I'll ttyl!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Commercial Dance
Hey everyone!
So this week was one of the busiest of the semester so far for me. Lots of dance stuff like teaching classes, choreographing routines, auditioning, dance department midterms. And also a math midterm this week which I probably did not do very well on. Anyways, to say the least, I am so worn out and ready to relax... but I have a non-stop weekend and I anticipate the next few weeks ahead to be more full and tiring than this week. So I'm definietly trying to brace myself and stay healthy.
What this post is actually about, though, is commercial dancing. Commercial dancing is the kind of dance that you see pretty much in any part of the entertainment industry. The kind of dancing in the performances at the Grammys, in music videos, in concerts, on shows like So You Think You Can Dance, and also in commercials and movies. This kind of dancing is the type that tends to be extremely entertaining and have a "wow" factor to it. It can be very styleized like hip-hop funk, or it can also be a strong contemporary piece that gives people chills.
Here's an example of a contemporary piece that definitely wowed the audience:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk8ImwtnCug
As you may have noticed, the overall quality of the dance is very fluid and soft, but there were various tricks and elements of passion that really set it aside from just a soft contemporary piece. This is what commercial dancing is all about. Performing from your heart to touch the audience.
I'll be talking more about commercial dancing tomorrow and post some more videos because there's some really great stuff out there.
Now it's sleeping time. Night. :]
So this week was one of the busiest of the semester so far for me. Lots of dance stuff like teaching classes, choreographing routines, auditioning, dance department midterms. And also a math midterm this week which I probably did not do very well on. Anyways, to say the least, I am so worn out and ready to relax... but I have a non-stop weekend and I anticipate the next few weeks ahead to be more full and tiring than this week. So I'm definietly trying to brace myself and stay healthy.
What this post is actually about, though, is commercial dancing. Commercial dancing is the kind of dance that you see pretty much in any part of the entertainment industry. The kind of dancing in the performances at the Grammys, in music videos, in concerts, on shows like So You Think You Can Dance, and also in commercials and movies. This kind of dancing is the type that tends to be extremely entertaining and have a "wow" factor to it. It can be very styleized like hip-hop funk, or it can also be a strong contemporary piece that gives people chills.
Here's an example of a contemporary piece that definitely wowed the audience:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk8ImwtnCug
As you may have noticed, the overall quality of the dance is very fluid and soft, but there were various tricks and elements of passion that really set it aside from just a soft contemporary piece. This is what commercial dancing is all about. Performing from your heart to touch the audience.
I'll be talking more about commercial dancing tomorrow and post some more videos because there's some really great stuff out there.
Now it's sleeping time. Night. :]
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Competition
Hey!
So I think last time I finished by telling you the hours of dance team practices. Something else I would like to mention about these practices is that they are always mandatory. It is extremely extremely rare that someone is absent at a practice. I believe this is because our coach wants us to utilize all the practice time we can get as a team, and also thinks it is just a professional thing to do.
During our first few practices of the year (which are in September) we work on time-out and sideline dances for basketball games and other events that we may possibly be assigned to. After about a month of practices, our coach introduced us to our songs for our competition routines and gave us an idea of what our costumes would be like. He gives us multiple variations of choreography including technique so it could give him an idea of who can do what kind of tricks. It was a little bit nerve racking at first -- especially since I was a rookie.
After he has evaluated our technical skills, he started setting formations and choreography permanently so he could move along with completing the routines. It is definitely a very long and strenuous process to complete and perfect a competition routine before nationals, but it is also really fun and interesting to watch your team grow as a whole.
We do a heck of a lot of cleaning up of the dances before we leave for nationals, and one can really see the difference in our performance. We were very motivated to take it all in Florida, and we wound up leaving with 2nd in jazz and 9th in hip hop. we were extremely excited for placing in the top ten in hip hop because it was the first time in Cal State Long Beach Dance Team history that the team has competed a hip hop routine. We definitely felt very accomplished.
Next time I will talk more about commercial dancing. Don't know what that is? No worries.
Watch this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YTbVW_SZvs
So I think last time I finished by telling you the hours of dance team practices. Something else I would like to mention about these practices is that they are always mandatory. It is extremely extremely rare that someone is absent at a practice. I believe this is because our coach wants us to utilize all the practice time we can get as a team, and also thinks it is just a professional thing to do.
During our first few practices of the year (which are in September) we work on time-out and sideline dances for basketball games and other events that we may possibly be assigned to. After about a month of practices, our coach introduced us to our songs for our competition routines and gave us an idea of what our costumes would be like. He gives us multiple variations of choreography including technique so it could give him an idea of who can do what kind of tricks. It was a little bit nerve racking at first -- especially since I was a rookie.
After he has evaluated our technical skills, he started setting formations and choreography permanently so he could move along with completing the routines. It is definitely a very long and strenuous process to complete and perfect a competition routine before nationals, but it is also really fun and interesting to watch your team grow as a whole.
We do a heck of a lot of cleaning up of the dances before we leave for nationals, and one can really see the difference in our performance. We were very motivated to take it all in Florida, and we wound up leaving with 2nd in jazz and 9th in hip hop. we were extremely excited for placing in the top ten in hip hop because it was the first time in Cal State Long Beach Dance Team history that the team has competed a hip hop routine. We definitely felt very accomplished.
Next time I will talk more about commercial dancing. Don't know what that is? No worries.
Watch this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YTbVW_SZvs
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Prepping to Compete
Hey everyone!
A lot of people think that dance team is all about being "pretty" and having "fun". I guess it can be a lot of that, but it also is something you probably wouldn't expect. I will be explaining a little bit of that.
First of all, I consider dance team a very demanding sport. It requires strength of your muscles, a good physical stamina, and kinestetic awareness. Another important and unique part of this sport is the required memorization of routines. As a team, we know probably around 20 different routines and sidelines that we perform at different games. Some of them we learned at camp during the summer, and others we learned during our normal practice hours. We are expected to know each (minute long) routine for the entire season, no questions asked -- this helps us to develop advanced and professional dancer skills, and also preps us to memorize our 2 minute long competition routines.
We practice 3 times a week for 3 hours. Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday: 7-10pm. It is definitely a challenge since I commute and since I have this 8am class after every night of practice, but I try to push through it.
Well I figure you're already pretty bored from this so far... so I will expand next time.
Until then...
A lot of people think that dance team is all about being "pretty" and having "fun". I guess it can be a lot of that, but it also is something you probably wouldn't expect. I will be explaining a little bit of that.
First of all, I consider dance team a very demanding sport. It requires strength of your muscles, a good physical stamina, and kinestetic awareness. Another important and unique part of this sport is the required memorization of routines. As a team, we know probably around 20 different routines and sidelines that we perform at different games. Some of them we learned at camp during the summer, and others we learned during our normal practice hours. We are expected to know each (minute long) routine for the entire season, no questions asked -- this helps us to develop advanced and professional dancer skills, and also preps us to memorize our 2 minute long competition routines.
We practice 3 times a week for 3 hours. Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday: 7-10pm. It is definitely a challenge since I commute and since I have this 8am class after every night of practice, but I try to push through it.
Well I figure you're already pretty bored from this so far... so I will expand next time.
Until then...
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Dance-packed Day
Hey everyone!
Today was a super long day for me, and it was completely filled with dance! I woke up at around 8 this morning and did some math homework. I left my house around 9:30 in order to get to my dance studio (West Coast School of the Arts) by 10. I subbed a level 3 jazz class and it went amazing - I am so impressed with those girls' talent everyday. Then I took a jazz 5 class at 11 which really stretched out my muscles and challenged my hamstring flexability.
For the rest of the day - from 12-430 - I choreographed different groups. These groups had dancers of different ages, levels, and different styles of dance. It was really interesting going from style to style within the 4 1/2 hours, and it was so much fun. I really enjoy teaching and choreographing and hope to go far with it in the future.
After teaching I rushed back home, got ready in 30 minutes, and got picked up by some of my friends from the dance department. We went to a Los Angeles Ballet show in Glendale. There were two ballet excerpts and one contemporary. The ballet was really pretty, and the contemporary piece was choreographed by a famous choreographer names Sonya Tayeh - mostly known from the show So You Think You Can Dance. The show was amazing to watch and we had a lot of fun. And now I'm finally back home ready to go to sleep.
Well I'm really sorry that I just randomly talked about my day, but I think it's important to show you that my days are packed with dancing a lot of the time. Actually, yesterday was full of dance like today as well. So 2 day out of the 3 of my weekend was dedicated to dance...and I loved it.
Will pick up on mre competition stuff next time ;]
Today was a super long day for me, and it was completely filled with dance! I woke up at around 8 this morning and did some math homework. I left my house around 9:30 in order to get to my dance studio (West Coast School of the Arts) by 10. I subbed a level 3 jazz class and it went amazing - I am so impressed with those girls' talent everyday. Then I took a jazz 5 class at 11 which really stretched out my muscles and challenged my hamstring flexability.
For the rest of the day - from 12-430 - I choreographed different groups. These groups had dancers of different ages, levels, and different styles of dance. It was really interesting going from style to style within the 4 1/2 hours, and it was so much fun. I really enjoy teaching and choreographing and hope to go far with it in the future.
After teaching I rushed back home, got ready in 30 minutes, and got picked up by some of my friends from the dance department. We went to a Los Angeles Ballet show in Glendale. There were two ballet excerpts and one contemporary. The ballet was really pretty, and the contemporary piece was choreographed by a famous choreographer names Sonya Tayeh - mostly known from the show So You Think You Can Dance. The show was amazing to watch and we had a lot of fun. And now I'm finally back home ready to go to sleep.
Well I'm really sorry that I just randomly talked about my day, but I think it's important to show you that my days are packed with dancing a lot of the time. Actually, yesterday was full of dance like today as well. So 2 day out of the 3 of my weekend was dedicated to dance...and I loved it.
Will pick up on mre competition stuff next time ;]
Friday, March 4, 2011
Competition
Hey!
So I'm going to try to pick up where I left off. In my last post I finished talking about what it takes to make a competitive college dance team and how the camp generally works. After camp and at the beginning of the school year is when the team starts working on the competition routine(s). For the Universal Dance Association national dance competition, each school team can only compete in two categories of dance and each routine can only be two minutes long.
Two minutes may seem like a long time for a dance routine, but there are a few things to take into consideration when one is actually choreographing a routine. There has to be various elements in each routine that displays strengths in technique, execution, precision, and overall impression. These things are their own individual categories on the score sheet and are very important to a teams' success. Usually, the coach of the team choreographs the routine, but some coaches hire choreographers to come in and make a routine for them. An advantage of the coach choreographing the routine is that they really know what their team's potential is - they know their strengths and weaknesses. An advantage of an outside choreographer coming in to teach a routine is that it can be something different and challenging for the team; therefore, the team would work very hard to master this choreography and surpass the challenge.
My team routines were choreographed by our coach, Rey Lozano. This past weekend our dance team had USA collegiate dance team nationals at the Anaheim Convention Center(this is the reason I have been so busy). We got second in jazz and second in hip hop and WE BEAT CAL STATE FULLERTON. This was a great victory for us, and I am personally very proud of our team for working so hard and doing so well at nationals.
Here is a video of the CSULB dance team jazz routine that was performed at UDA Nationals in Florida:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5s6cryIHnY
I'll be back tomorrow to recap more on competition stuff.
As always, feel free to ask questions!
So I'm going to try to pick up where I left off. In my last post I finished talking about what it takes to make a competitive college dance team and how the camp generally works. After camp and at the beginning of the school year is when the team starts working on the competition routine(s). For the Universal Dance Association national dance competition, each school team can only compete in two categories of dance and each routine can only be two minutes long.
Two minutes may seem like a long time for a dance routine, but there are a few things to take into consideration when one is actually choreographing a routine. There has to be various elements in each routine that displays strengths in technique, execution, precision, and overall impression. These things are their own individual categories on the score sheet and are very important to a teams' success. Usually, the coach of the team choreographs the routine, but some coaches hire choreographers to come in and make a routine for them. An advantage of the coach choreographing the routine is that they really know what their team's potential is - they know their strengths and weaknesses. An advantage of an outside choreographer coming in to teach a routine is that it can be something different and challenging for the team; therefore, the team would work very hard to master this choreography and surpass the challenge.
My team routines were choreographed by our coach, Rey Lozano. This past weekend our dance team had USA collegiate dance team nationals at the Anaheim Convention Center(this is the reason I have been so busy). We got second in jazz and second in hip hop and WE BEAT CAL STATE FULLERTON. This was a great victory for us, and I am personally very proud of our team for working so hard and doing so well at nationals.
Here is a video of the CSULB dance team jazz routine that was performed at UDA Nationals in Florida:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5s6cryIHnY
I'll be back tomorrow to recap more on competition stuff.
As always, feel free to ask questions!
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